The Fourth Crusade was a Western European armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. In the primary source “The Capture of Constantinople” by Robert de Clari it explained how the crusaders were unable to pay back the Venetians after their battle with each other. The crusaders owed them a lot, even though this was supposed to be a journey on how to win back Constantinople or Jerusalem, the Holy Land, it turned into a blood bath that was a based around violence and money. As the Venetians had difficulty receiving their payment from the crusaders they made a deal that if they crowned Alexius emperor, he would have to pay them back. So after they crowned him, he paid them back. “…at that time he paid 200,000 marks. Of this sum the Venetians -received one-half; for they were to receive one-half of the conquests. Of the 50,000 which remained, 36,000, which the Franks still owed for the vessels, were paid to the Venetians. And all those who had advanced money to pay for the passage were paid out of the 14,000 marks which the pilgrims had left” (Dana). A lot of money was owed because of all of the damage done while fighting. If this was supposed to be a fight for the Holy Land, a person would not think that it would turn into any other war. This turned into a war solely based on money and power. As they still owed money this caused more problems. “…they sent two knights to the emperor and demanded again that he should pay them. He replied to the messengers that he would pay nothing, he had already paid too much, and that he was not afraid of any one. He also commanded them to go away and leave his land; they were to understand that if they did not depart, he would injure them” (Dana) Since Alexius was crowned emperor he thought that he had an advantage over everyone, when in reality he did not. The Venetians still wanted their money. As Alexius did not pay the remaining amount of money and threats were made towards him. At the beginning of the Crusades, it was believed that Christians were trying to win back their holy land, but in the end it was all a race for money and power. The whole event lost its meaning. The crusades in general were gruesome battles. It went from trying to win the Holy Land back to trying to get the most power. A person would not think that a voyage to win back their land for religious beliefs would turn into an event that kills thousands of people, or an event that turns into people owing people money. By the end it had all of the wrong intentions.
The Fourth Crusade also known as the holy crusades was an expedition to the holy land of Jerusalem. The crusade lasted a few years. It started in 1202 and last until 1204. The main purpose of the crusades was to take back the holy lands from Islamic influence. Because this crusade had the backing of Pope Innocent, III many Christians were willing to back it up and help to fight for the crusades. However, this was not enough. The pope could not raise enough money to pay for the journey or to pay the members who joined the cause.
In the Fourth Crusade, there was a lot of support by the religion enthusiast. The initiative the pope took in the Crusade gained an increase in support. There was not a significant problem in the holy land until the 11th century when Hakim the Egyptian ruler of Palestine became intolerant of the Christians and Jews. To get back at the traveling Christians and Jews, Hakim declared himself god and destroyed the main church. He called for men to join the army and others to donate to the churches. Another benefit to either joining the crusade or donating money meant your sins were officially forgiven. By the Fourth Crusade, Innocent III came to papal in 1198 and called for the Fourth Crusade. The Doge of Venice and Pope Innocent III agreed on an arrangement that the Venice government would give the crusaders money towards the crusade.
The source I am using is Robert de Clari: The Capture of Constantinople. In this source, it discussed how the crusaders were unable to pay back the Venetians after their first agreement. The first agreement between the Crusaders and Venice was that Venice would lend the crusaders money and men to take back the holy land. However after the men were rude to the workers of Venice they asked for their money back. After collecting the most money they could they said to “the Venetians that they had been imposed upon; that the army was greatly impoverished by this last collection; that they could not pay any more money at all, for they had hardly enough to support the army (Munro)”. The Doge of Venice came up with a plan to get the money the crusaders owed and fix the problem he was having with a nearby town named Zara. Zara was a small rich town that was giving Venice trouble. The crusaders agreed but no one knew the full plan except for the leaders. Staying in Zara for the winter the crusaders realized they could not continue because they did not have enough funds to. After agreeing to Alexis that they would go to Constantinople and help him, claim the right to the throne, there was a problem with the first payment. He would not pay until after the crowning ceremony. After the ceremony, the Venetians got the money that the crusaders owed them. After refusing to pay the rest of the money Constantinople owed them for bring Alexis to the throne, they threatened to take him out of power again.
During the Fourth Crusade, it took a lot of negotiating throughout this time to get the materials for what they needed. They ended up owing a lot of money to the Venice and ended up working with them on side operations that had nothing to do with their original crusade. Having owed money to the Venetians did help them gain the materials and money but it took them from their main purpose of the crusades, which was to take back their holy land from the Jerusalem’s.
As the Venetians had difficulty receiving their payment from the crusaders they made a deal that if they crowned Alexius emperor, he would have to pay them back. So after they crowned him, he paid them back. “…at that time he paid 200,000 marks. Of this sum the Venetians -received one-half; for they were to receive one-half of the conquests. Of the 50,000 which remained, 36,000, which the Franks still owed for the vessels, were paid to the Venetians. And all those who had advanced money to pay for the passage were paid out of the 14,000 marks which the pilgrims had left” (Dana). A lot of money was owed because of all of the damage done while fighting. If this was supposed to be a fight for the Holy Land, a person would not think that it would turn into any other war. This turned into a war solely based on money and power. As they still owed money this caused more problems. “…they sent two knights to the emperor and demanded again that he should pay them. He replied to the messengers that he would pay nothing, he had already paid too much, and that he was not afraid of any one. He also commanded them to go away and leave his land; they were to understand that if they did not depart, he would injure them” (Dana) Since Alexius was crowned emperor he thought that he had an advantage over everyone, when in reality he did not. The Venetians still wanted their money. As Alexius did not pay the remaining amount of money and threats were made towards him. At the beginning of the Crusades, it was believed that Christians were trying to win back their holy land, but in the end it was all a race for money and power. The whole event lost its meaning.
The crusades in general were gruesome battles. It went from trying to win the Holy Land back to trying to get the most power. A person would not think that a voyage to win back their land for religious beliefs would turn into an event that kills thousands of people, or an event that turns into people owing people money. By the end it had all of the wrong intentions.
The Fourth Crusade also known as the holy crusades was an expedition to the holy land of Jerusalem. The crusade lasted a few years. It started in 1202 and last until 1204. The main purpose of the crusades was to take back the holy lands from Islamic influence. Because this crusade had the backing of Pope Innocent, III many Christians were willing to back it up and help to fight for the crusades. However, this was not enough. The pope could not raise enough money to pay for the journey or to pay the members who joined the cause.
In the Fourth Crusade, there was a lot of support by the religion enthusiast. The initiative the pope took in the Crusade gained an increase in support. There was not a significant problem in the holy land until the 11th century when Hakim the Egyptian ruler of Palestine became intolerant of the Christians and Jews. To get back at the traveling Christians and Jews, Hakim declared himself god and destroyed the main church. He called for men to join the army and others to donate to the churches. Another benefit to either joining the crusade or donating money meant your sins were officially forgiven. By the Fourth Crusade, Innocent III came to papal in 1198 and called for the Fourth Crusade. The Doge of Venice and Pope Innocent III agreed on an arrangement that the Venice government would give the crusaders money towards the crusade.
The source I am using is Robert de Clari: The Capture of Constantinople. In this source, it discussed how the crusaders were unable to pay back the Venetians after their first agreement. The first agreement between the Crusaders and Venice was that Venice would lend the crusaders money and men to take back the holy land. However after the men were rude to the workers of Venice they asked for their money back. After collecting the most money they could they said to “the Venetians that they had been imposed upon; that the army was greatly impoverished by this last collection; that they could not pay any more money at all, for they had hardly enough to support the army (Munro)”. The Doge of Venice came up with a plan to get the money the crusaders owed and fix the problem he was having with a nearby town named Zara. Zara was a small rich town that was giving Venice trouble. The crusaders agreed but no one knew the full plan except for the leaders. Staying in Zara for the winter the crusaders realized they could not continue because they did not have enough funds to. After agreeing to Alexis that they would go to Constantinople and help him, claim the right to the throne, there was a problem with the first payment. He would not pay until after the crowning ceremony. After the ceremony, the Venetians got the money that the crusaders owed them. After refusing to pay the rest of the money Constantinople owed them for bring Alexis to the throne, they threatened to take him out of power again.
During the Fourth Crusade, it took a lot of negotiating throughout this time to get the materials for what they needed. They ended up owing a lot of money to the Venice and ended up working with them on side operations that had nothing to do with their original crusade. Having owed money to the Venetians did help them gain the materials and money but it took them from their main purpose of the crusades, which was to take back their holy land from the Jerusalem’s.
Source:The Fourth Crusade
Author:Morgan Craft-Alison Murphy